Against the Odds
by TKiwi02
Summary: Spinelli has a conversation with a friend on top of Old Rusty. Who knew confessions would lead to a bond like this? [ONE-SHOT]


**_Okay, so it's been two years since I've written/posted a fanfic here. This is also my first ever Recess story. I've been wanting to write one for Recess for years! I'm happy I finally sucked it up and wrote. Honestly though, this story wrote itself. _**

**_I hope you like it!(:_**

* * *

The playground of Third Street School was quiet, as the last day of school had been two days before, and the only sign of movement were the swings rocking with the breeze. Two figures sat up on the top of Old Rusty, silently reliving the memories they had made on that playground years ago. They had met there by chance; neither had planned to even end up at the elementary school, and they had yet to say a word to the other.

The boy didn't know how long the two had been sitting there in silence. He was fine with it, sure, but there were a few things he had been hoping to say the next time he was alone with the girl beside him. He just didn't think he'd get this chance so soon. But before he said anything that might scare her off, he had one question to ask.

"What made you come here?" _Stupid question._ "I mean, why aren't you with the others celebrating? We did just graduate, after all."

For the first time since they'd both shown up, the girl formally acknowledged him, turning her head so her brown eyes met his. She shrugged; wisps of her raven hair falling off her shoulder. "I guess I just needed to get away for a bit. It's been chaos all day. Getting ready this morning, the ceremony, mom crying about how 'her baby girl is all grown up', the party afterward… it just felt like too much."

"'Baby girl?'" the boy questioned with a smirk. "Don't you mean, 'Pookie?'"

"Shut it," Spinelli said, her eyes narrowing, though there was very little threat in them. She was too tired to threaten anyone. She looked at the large clock up on the school. Was it really only 6 o'clock?

The boy beside her chuckled, remembering the days when she would've had no problem chasing him down to beat him to a pulp right on this very playground. Though usually for a different reason, like getting her and her friends in trouble or calling her by her first name. Things had changed a lot over the years. One of the most notable changes being that he, Randall Weems, could sit next to Ashley Spinelli without any consequences.

Well, most of the time.

"So why aren't you with your folks celebrating?" Spinelli asked. She nudged him with a smirk, "We did just graduate, after all."

Randall rolled his eyes. "We celebrated. We went to an early dinner with my grandparents at Olive Garden."

"Fancy."

"Yeah," Randall nodded, holding down a garlic burp. "Anyway, we had dinner early because my mom had to work tonight at the station, and my dad decided to get some work done at his home office. Since they were both working, I decided to take a walk to kinda de-stress from today's festivities." Randall gestured out to the playground below. "Old Third Street was calling me, so I came out this way, and that's how I ended up sitting here with you."

Spinelli only nodded, propping her elbows on the railing in front of her. She could easily picture herself and her friends playing on the jungle gym she sat on - it made her wish she could be 'just a kid' again and play on it once more. Now that they had graduated high school, the worries of college and moving away were settling into her mind. She drove the thoughts away and leaned her forehead on the railing.

"What's _one_ thing you want to do this summer before going away to college?" she asked her companion. "Something that you've always been too scared to do before?"

Randall looked at her, startled by the sudden question. "Uh, I don't know," he said, tripping over his thoughts. "I-I don't think there's really anything I want to do that falls under that category."

"Oh, come on. There has to be something!"

"No." Randall shook his head. "Nothing at all."

"Seriously?" Spinelli turned her body toward him, crossing her legs Indian-style as she used to in the very school they sat outside of. She leaned forward, her elbows now on her knees. "There aren't any dangerous stunts? Pranks? Girls you want to confess your undying love to?"

"Nope," Randall said, now mimicking her position. "Besides, I tried asking a few girls to prom, remember? That didn't go so well."

"That's because you asked Ashley T., Lauren, and Theresa," Spinelli said. "I know Ashley T. is the least threatening of the Ashleys, but still, if you get rejected by one of the Ashley's, no other girl who thinks they're the top of the food chain - the idiots - will say yes after," she rolled her eyes thinking of the four preppy girls. "Plus, you should've known that Theresa has had a crush on Gus since the fourth grade."

Randall shrugged. "It's not like he was making any moves to ask her."

Spinelli smiled at the memory. "At least you asking her made him crazy jealous enough to man up and ask her out."

"Who would've thought?" Randall said, "Gus and Theresa, the Cornchip Girl, a couple?"

"Only the entire population of the juniors and seniors who went to Third Street."

"Eh, I guess. But then again, everyone who went to Third Street also thought you and TJ would end up together too."

Spinelli winced. "Yeah, that was an awkward year."

"So, he's over it now?" Randall asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Spinelli said.

Of course, they were referring to their sophomore year when TJ had gotten up the courage to admit his feelings to Spinelli (thanks to a pep talk from Vince and Mikey). Unfortunately for him, she didn't reciprocate his feelings - she only thought of him as a brother, not in a romantic way. TJ had withdrawn for weeks, only talking to his parents, sister, and his teachers when called on in class. It had taken a nice, long talk with Principal Prickly to make TJ come back out of his shell and hang out with his friends again.

Just the same, Spinelli had distanced herself from her friends while TJ was floating in his self-made black hole. She felt terrible about being the cause of his misery, thus not wanting to make things more uncomfortable with the gang by being around all the time while TJ wasn't. It was then that she had even starting talking to Randall in the first place. She made a visit to Miss Finster to vent (as she often did after the weekend she'd spent with the teacher in fourth grade) and Randall happened to be there to hear it all.

"He should be over it by now," Randall said. "It's been over two years."

Spinelli shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

"And didn't he end up going to prom with that girl, CJ?"

"Yeah, he did. And they've gone on a couple of dates since, but they're not 'official' yet."

"Well then, I guess he's over you," Randall said with a laugh.

"He better be if he's going to date CJ," Spinelli said.

"So, what about you then?"

"What about me?"

"You know, what you asked me before," Randall said. "About doing anything this summer that you've always wanted to do, but were too scared to?"

"Oh, that," Spinelli said. "Honestly? I don't know. I feel the one thing that's scaring me the most is moving away from everyone to go to college in the fall, so…"

"Really?" Randall said. "You're scared about that?"

Spinelli shrugged. "Well, yeah. Aren't you?"

"No," Randall said. "I can't wait for it. It's a new adventure. Getting out of this town is something I'm really looking forward to."

"Huh, I figured everyone would be scared about leaving," Spinelli said. "Almost everyone who's going far away is."

"I mean, it's scary in a way," Randall said. "I'm not going to know anyone or where anything is, but it's a fresh start, for me at least. No one who knows anything about me. They won't know that I was a nerdy, little snitch in elementary and middle school or an outcast in high school. I can start fresh in college… and I'm looking forward to that."

"I guess when you look at it that way, it doesn't seem so bad," Spinelli said thoughtfully.

"And hey, think about it this way," Randall said, hoping to ease his friend's worries, "going away to college means not being publically humiliated by your parents anymore. No one will be around to call you 'Pookie' or talk about any past embarrassing moments."

"That's true," Spinelli laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I love my folks, and I'll miss them when I move away, but they can be a lot."

"Yeah, I'll miss my mom and dad too," Randall said. "And Miss Finster."

"Sure, you'll miss her, but not me?" Spinelli teased.

"Well, she's like a grandmother to me," Randall said. "She always has been. I guess she is to you too though, since she's your grandma's best friend and all. But I never met my grandmothers. She was the closest I got to having one."

Spinelli nodded. Miss Finster, the woman who was tough as nails and could strike fear into anyone's heart, had wormed her way into a few select former students of hers. Deep under the tough exterior, the retired teacher really did care for her students and loved them as if they were her own.

"And, yes," Randall said, poking Spinelli's arm, "of course I'll miss you too."

"Good." Spinelli poked him back. "Jerk."

"Well? Aren't you gonna miss me too?" Randall asked, doing his best to give her sad eyes, but failing to contain his smile.

" _What?_ " Spinelli asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Me? Miss the person who helped me through one of the worst years of my life and is a close friend?" She waved her hand. "As if."

"Gee, tell me how you _really_ feel."

"I just did."

"Shut up."

"I'd like to see you try."

The two laughed at their banter. Even after three years of friendship, it was still surreal to them that they could now joke this way. Never in a million years did Spinelli think that she'd be able to call Randall one of her best friends, but here she was, joking with him just as she would with TJ, Vince, Gretchen, Mikey, or Gus. The only difference was that they weren't as close to Randall as she was.

She was kind of thankful for that.

"Really, though?" Spinelli said. "Of course I'll miss you, Nerd."

Randall smiled. "Good." He looked out over the playground once more and chuckled. "Seriously, because it would be kind of sad if the one person I consider my best friend wouldn't miss me when we go to completely opposite sides of the country for college."

"That wouldn't be sad," Spinelli said, "that'd be pathetic."

"Speaking of pathetic…" Randall said after a few moments of silence. "There is something I have been scared to admit that I should probably let out."

Spinelli raised an eyebrow. "Are you about to come out of the closet?"

"No, no," Randall said quickly. "It's not really that big of a deal. I mean, this was _a while_ back," Randall paused, letting out a breath before talking faster than his mind could process the words coming out. "But I kinda had a crush on you for a real long time. And I'm over it now and I know you're happy with Johnny V., 'cause he's a real cool guy so I'm happy for you, I just wanted to tell you because it felt like I was keeping something from you - well, I was - and it didn't feel right keeping it a secret. I guess I was just always afraid if you knew you'd hate me and now that we're friends I don't think I'd be able to handle that."

Randall caught his breath and fought the heat coming to his cheeks as he waited for her response. The seconds passed like hours in his mind as he watched Spinelli process what he just said. _Or was she even processing it? Had he talked so fast that she didn't hear a word of it?_ He didn't think he'd be able to say all of that again.

Finally, after what was only not even a minute, Spinelli shrugged. "I know."

"I didn't mean to ruin our friendship, but I-" Randall blinked and shook his head. "Wait, _what?_ You _knew_ about it?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

"Since freshman year."

Randall deflated in both relief and disappointment. "How? I mean, I thought I was pretty good at hiding it."

"Not that good apparently," Spinelli said. "I'm not saying that all of our classmates knew about it, but me, Gretchen, and Mikey knew about it. I think TJ might've too, but I can't say for sure."

"Oh."

"Also, Miss Finster might've let it slip," Spinelli confessed. "That's how I started to notice it."

Randall nodded with a chuckle. "That's more of a relief. I was afraid for a second there that I was one of those losers who pines over someone like in a bad teen romance novel."

"No, you weren't _that_ bad," Spinelli said with a smile.

"Just to be clear though, I am over it," Randall said. "The crush is crushed."

"Obviously," Spinelli said. "There's no way you would've said anything if it wasn't."

"True."

"I'm just wondering why you decided to tell me at all?" Spinelli said, once again swinging her legs over the edge of Old Rusty.

Randall followed suit and rested his arms on the railing. "Like I said, I felt like it was keeping something from you that you should know. I know it sounds silly, but… I don't know, it just felt weird to me." He looked over at her and shrugged. "Not that it mattered if I didn't say anything."

"Nope," Spinelli said. "So, do you feel better now that your dark secret has been let out?"

"Actually, yes." Randall grinned and dramatically threw out his arms. "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm a new person. I am now officially ready to go to college!"

"So dramatic."

"So sarcastic." Randall leaned forward again. "I really am relieved though. I was afraid of ruining this. That me telling you about my past crush would make it weird, kind of like what happened with you and TJ."

"That was different though," Spinelli said. "He didn't say he had a crush on me. He said he loved me. Huge difference."

"I guess that's true," Randall said.

The sound of footsteps and voices grew louder from behind them. No longer were the two friends alone on the playground. Finally a voice came in full volume from below.

"Hey guys, they're up on Old Rusty!"

Spinelli and Randall turned away from the railing in time to see the source of the voice climb up and sit with them. Now that he was six foot two, Gus sitting up on top of a jungle gym was a funny sight. Moments later, they were joined by TJ and Mikey, making the space crowded between the five teenagers.

"Man, how long have you two been here?" TJ asked.

"Yeah, we've been looking for you for a while!" Mikey said.

Spinelli shrugged, glancing at Randall before looking back to the boys. "No idea. Probably at least an hour."

"Yeah, we just kinda ended up here randomly," Randall said.

Gus, his leg shaking with excitement, couldn't contain his smile. "You'll _never_ guess what happened when we were over at Kelso's!"

"Lawson finally learned how to work the milkshake machine?" Spinelli quipped.

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen," TJ said.

"We're getting off subject!" Mikey said, his enthusiasm matching Gus's.

"Okay, okay. Calm down," Spinelli said.

Randall nodded to Gus. "Go on."

"Thank you," Gus said. "Anyway, Vince _finally_ asked Gretchen to be his girlfriend and _SHE SAID YES!_ "

" _Seriously?_ "

"About time!" Spinelli said.

"Yeah, we're completely psyched for him," TJ said with a grin.

"What made him finally get the guts to ask her?" Randall asked.

"I guess because we were talking about how we need to really make this summer one to remember," TJ said. "I mean, after this summer we're all heading off to different colleges and who knows how often we'll get to see each other?"

"He finally realized that this summer is now or never to have his chance with Gretchen, so he just went for it," Gus said, pumping his fist in the air.

Mikey smiled. "He said that if he waited any longer that they wouldn't be able to have any of the summer together as a couple. You know, assuming she said yes, which she did."

Randall and Spinelli exchanged knowing looks. It was amazing that they had just graduated that morning, but all anyone could think about was their impending separation two and a half months from now. And they were happy for Vince and Gretchen - those two had been as obviously perfect for each other as Gus and Cornchip Girl were. They knew it was only a matter of time before one of them asked the other out.

"It's pretty cool though, huh?" Mikey said, still smiling. "It's like something you'd see on a TV show, where two best friends finally realize their feelings for each other and actually end up together."

"Yeah, what are the chances of that happening in real life?" Gus wondered.

TJ smirked. " _Almost_ as unlikely as Spinelli and Randall becoming best friends."

Not being able to contain his smile, Randall threw an arm around Spinelli in a half-hug.

"So I guess the chances were pretty good then."

* * *

 ** _Ta-da! My very first one-shot for Recess!_**

 ** _I have to say, I never thought it would be about Spinelli and Randall being friends, but I have to thank a guest reviewer of another Recess stories under the alias, RandallxSpinelli. I've seen their comments on a few of my other favorite Recess fics about some Randall/Spinelli moments in the stories, so I thought it'd be interesting to write about them. I just couldn't bring myself to write them together romantically, so I think them being best friends will work for now. It was a challenge anyway, and I'm pretty happy with it._**

 ** _Also, I'm really excited over this fic because it's the first story I've posted on here in nearly two years._**

 ** _I definitely want to write more Recess stories, so I'm hoping to get some going soon._**

 ** _And with that, I will take my leave._**

 ** _I hope you enjoy and please let me know if you did in a comment!_**

 ** _Peace!_**

 ** _~tabbyisnotacat~_**


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